2 Va. hospitals closing maternity wards

Two small Virginia hospitals announced this week that they will be closing their maternity wards, the Virginia Politics blog reports.

Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Lexington and Bedford Memorial Hospital announced that they will close their maternity units on April 30 and Oct. 1, respectively.

Some Virginia hospitals have struggled to make ends meet with falling state funds, particularly smaller rural hospitals that serve large numbers of patients on Medicaid. In the past eight years, six Virginia hospitals had already closed their maternity wings.